MEDIA ADVISORY: KU obesity conference offers local angle to Dr. Phil's TV focus on weight loss

WHAT: University of Kansas-sponsored Metabolic Syndrome Conference organized by the Center for Physical Activity and Weight Management directed by Joseph E. Donnelly, whose weight-loss research has benefited KU Chancellor Robert E. Hemenway, among others.

The conference will offer an opportunity to talk to national weight-loss and fitness experts as a local angle to NBC's weeklong focus on weight loss. The national network will begin with a Katie Couric special that features talk-show host Dr. Phil McGraw at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, on KSNT 27 in Topeka and KSHB 41 in the Kansas City area. Dr. Phil's focus on weight loss will continue on the "Today" show for the week beginning Sept. 15.

WHEN & WHERE: The conference will be from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 11 through 13 at the Sheraton Overland Park Hotel at the Convention Center, 6100 College Blvd., Overland Park.

WHO: KU and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment are co-sponsoring the Metabolic Syndrome Conference for regional health care professionals featuring nationally known experts in the field of the prevention and treatment of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

The metabolic syndrome is a scientific term that refers to the conditions that tend to accompany obesity, such as hypertension, high cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes.

Topics will include:

 • the impact of community design on physical activity and health
 • the effect of physical activity on obesity and cardiovascular disease
 • action plans for states on how to promote physical activity
 • steps to a healthier United States

NOTABLE SPEAKERS

Steven N. Blair, president and CEO, Cooper Institute, Dallas; Kansas native
9-10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 13

Karen Donato, coordinator, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Obesity Education Initiative, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.
3:45-4:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, KEYNOTE

Mark Fenton, physical activity program manager, University of North Carolina's Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center; host of "America's Walking" on PBS Television
8-9 a.m. Friday, Sept. 12, KEYNOTE

James O. Hill, director of the Center for Human Nutrition; director of Colorado Clinical Nutrition Research Unit; professor of pediatrics and medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver; creator of "Colorado on the Move" and "America on the Move" physical activity-based programs
10:20-11:20 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 13

Bruce Leonard, public health consultant, president of "AIM2010, Americans in Motion," Lawrenceville, Ga.
9-9:45 a.m. Friday, Sept. 12

Ann Taubenheim, coordinator, Women's Heart Health Education Initiative, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Office of Prevention, Education and Control, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.; coordinator of "The Red Dress Project," on display Sept. 11-21 at Halls Crown Center, Kansas City, Mo.
1:45-2:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12

Dr. Frank Vinicor, director of diabetes for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; director of World Health Organization Collaborating Center in Diabetes; associate professor of medicine, Emory University, Atlanta
8:30-9:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, KEYNOTE

Dr. Eric C. Westman, associate professor of medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.; key researcher for the Atkins Foundation
4:30-6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11

Michael B. Zemel, professor of nutrition and medicine, director, the Nutrition Institute, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; lead researcher on the effects of dairy products
11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11